Although Marin may be known for its affluent and comfortable lifestyle, over a thousand teenagers do not have a permanent home to sleep in each night.

Unlike the adult homeless population, which is more visible to the public, most of these teens are hidden from sight, forced to sleep in friends’ houses, cars and abandoned buildings.

Zara Babitzke is the founding director of the Ambassadors of Hope Organization (AHO), which specifically helps homeless people aged 16-25 in Marin.

“The issue we’re addressing is still under the radar,” said Babitzke, who was homeless when she was a teen. “There is not a lot of willingness or openness to understand this issue for young people who don’t have families.”

According to the Marin County Office of Education, there are 1,519 homeless youth in Marin. Of this population, 1,093 are enrolled in school. The majority are staying with another family, though many live in shelters and transitional housing awaiting foster care.

While the primary homeless population in Marin consists of adult white males, the number of homeless women and even families increases daily. According to the Marin County Civil Grand Jury (MCCGJ), the homeless population is focused in San Rafael, Novato, Sausalito and unincorporated areas.

In contrast to the homeless adults visible on streets, youth tend to be more concealed from the public. According to Babitzke, two years ago, after AHO presented during Diversity Week, many Redwood students approached her and explained their own situation and struggle. Even last week, AHO received ten referrals for teens that are homeless in the Tamalpais Union District.

“It’s because we can’t see them for what they are—ordinary humans pushed into extraordinary straits, narrowly focused on day-to-day survival—that they stay ‘invisible,’ sometimes living in cheerless, darkened places that we choose not to peer into or even wander by,” stated a report by the MCCGJ.

According to Babitzke, many teens are homeless because of parents who are addicted to drugs or alcohol, abusive, mentally ill or arrested. At least a dozen families involved in AHO have even moved to other countries, leaving their children homeless in Marin.

“Families move to Europe or South America,” Babitzke said. “The problem is people don’t want to believe it. They can’t connect so they don’t even try.”

Homelessness is a particularly difficult issue to improve in Marin. According to Babitzke, most of the state’s funding for homeless organizations is not focused in Marin because the homeless problem is not as conspicuous as in other counties.

“The Tim Buron foundation had a grant for 1 million dollars to distribute to homeless agencies,” she said. “However, they identified the seven counties that are most deserving and of course Marin was left out.”

In addition, much of the funding for homelessness targets general homeless shelters as opposed to youth-specific programs. According to Babitzke, this is detrimental to helping youth.

“Traditional programs have ignored the unique needs of the youth by attempting to serve them as part of the greater homeless population, simply exacerbating the problem,” she said. “It is a tragedy to lose the talents and gifts of these youth to a chronic life of homelessness, incarceration or dependency on the system.”